Summertime Blossom
by PBTT
Summary: In the midst of adolescence, marriage, Soul-Reaper-hood, nobility and summertime you can find love...can't you?
1. Introduction

_**Introduction**_

"Captain, I'm terribly sorry for being late, my wife, she-"

Ukitake froze and gave the young man a curious look, tea resting by his lips and eyes wide.

"All is well, Kaien. I called you here on social business, anyway." The captain smiled.

"Oh." The Shiba looked to his left. "Hai?"

"You don't need to be so formal on a weekend." The white-haired man was still smiling. "I know a young man who could probably use a friend like you."

"Like me?" Kaien sipped his tea as the afternoon breeze disturbed the sakura blossoms.

"He too is the head of a household and could use some guidance from a man."

"…Are there only women in his house?" The raven-haired man raised a teasing eyebrow.

"His grandfather," Ukitake chuckled to himself. "Has a clan and a squad to watch after and often leaves him in the hands of our fourth division captain, Yoruichi."

"You're speaking of Kuchiki Byakuya."

"Ah, don't you think it's best you two start a strong relationship in your youth as to have better social and political relations in the future?" Kaien hadn't thought about that.

"You're very wise to suggest that, Taicho." The Shiba nodded.

"Let's take a walk." The ancient man smiled kindly, stood, and turned on his heel. "I told his grandfather we'd meet them in ten minutes."

The raven-haired man choked on his tea a bit.

* * *

"COME ON OUT YOU DAMNED, WERE-CAT."

"_How dare that bitch waltz in here and steal my hair tie_," Byakuya had a sparring sword in hand and was searching the grounds with his reiatsu. "_I gotta meet this Kaien guy in like four minutes! I hate it when people think I'm a lady._"

"Why don't you just spit on the ground and shake his hand when he gets here!" Byakuya frowned, he couldn't tell where that came from. He felt reiatsu poke his shoulder blade. Recognizing it as his grandfather's, he threw the sparring stick into the bushes and turned with a pleasant look plastered on his pretty face.

Three seconds later the elderly man accompanied by Ukitake appeared in the threshold of the official entrance to the garden. The teen didn't have to struggled with his facial muscles any longer when he saw them.

The thirteenth captain smiled and waved as he approached the raven-haired boy. As soon as he turned back to his conversation with Ginrei, Byakuya scanned the grounds for Yoruichi. He figured she wouldn't have still been hiding in the presence of two of her senior captains. She didn't show.

"Ah, well put, Jyuushiro," Byakuya's grandfather had put an end to their conversation once they had reached the part of the yard where the boy was. All huddled near a giant wall of flora, the three men and the boy looked like they were having a secret meeting. "Come, Byakuya, let's have tea with our guests."

The teen had finally noticed the presence of the lieutenant. He looked a bit surprised gazing down at the boy. Byakuya sighed and looked in the other direction, to hide his burning, pale cheeks. He knew he looked like a woman now.

The two captains began to move toward the deck of the house with the young men in tow. Byakuya watched the tall man out of the corner of his eye as teal orbs wandered the bountiful cherry trees. His long lashes batted at the light gust dancing with the loose blossoms. His uniform hung loose on his muscled chest, exposing the perfect hue of his smooth skin, and the sleeves tickled the brawn of his forearms. Robust hands swung loosely at slim hips in rhythm with lean legs. Jaw set and nose sharp and pointed, he was handsome. He smiled at the teen.

Very handsome.

Ginrei and Ukitake had left the boy in the hands of the lieutenant ten minutes ago.

After tea, they had decided to go to the office of the sixth division and discuss "urgent matters". Ukitake had told his subordinate to become better acquainted with the boy. So far, they had sat on the back porch of the tearoom and started discussing Byakuya's training for his entrance exam at the Soul Academy. It had grown boring.

"What do you wanna do now?" Kaien looked at the teen sideways from his position on his back, lying on the deck. Byakuya turned to him, knees pulled to his chest, raven locks swinging freely in the breeze.

"What's it like as a soul reaper?"

"It's fun. Kicking ass by day and partying by night." The lieutenant said, shrugging his shoulders. He folded his hands behind his head and chuckled to himself.

"You get mad chicks." Byakuya turned with a scowl as Kaien sat upright, confused.

Yoruichi had finally returned, twirling Byakuya's hair-band around her finger.

"C-Captain Shihoin!" Kaien leapt to his feet and bowed.

"Calm down, I'm not even wearing my haori, man." The tanned woman patted the tall man on his head.

"Where have you been, you, bitch?" Kaien eyes shot open in disbelief at the teen. Byakuya leapt at the woman and instinctively, she moved half way across the garden. She stood on the other side of a pond, dumbfounded, staring into wide purple orbs. Which were, surprisingly, still on the deck.

"Let go of me!" Byakuya struggled in the lieutenant's firm grasp, kicking and bucking his hips. But then he realized he was in the other man's lap and discontinued. His cheeks were red.

"You shouldn't talk to a captain like that, Kuchiki-san!" Kaien sounded more concerned than angry. "It's...disrespectful."

"You_ know _I HATE it when people think I'm a woman!" The teen ignored the scolding from his captor.

"And a pretty one! Eh, Kaien?" The lieutenant looked at the captain in shock. She was encouraging this behavior?

"SHUT UP! Give me my hair tie!" He began to struggle in the man's arms again. The Shiba tightened around him until the teen could barely move.

"I can't…breathe!" Byakuya choked out between gasps. He rested his head against the broad chest and failed at an attempt to intimidate the tall man. Blushing from ear to ear wasn't very manly.

Said man tried not smile, which irritated Byakuya into struggling a third time. He tried to pull himself from the strong arms and only succeeded in sinking his manicured nails into the brawny forearms.

"Ow!" Kaien released the boy, who fell face first into the grass between the man's feet, ass still sticking up, and thighs around the man's knees.

After a pause for understanding to sink in, the captain on the far side of the yard began howling and doubled over, pointing to the young nobleman. Byakuya groaned as gravity pushed him to land on his back in the grass, looking up at the lieutenant. The long hair at the base of Kaien's head spilled over his shoulders.

"Isn't that a bit SLUTTY for your first _date_, Bya-bo?" Yoruichi fell on the ground, cackling. Byakuya's face grew even redder and he turned on his stomach. No matter how hard he pressed his palms to his ears, he couldn't drown out the giggling of the woman in the grass.

* * *

Sorry! Can't think of/decide on idea for Byakuya x Starrk story.

Inspiration, anyone?


	2. Moments

_**Moments**_

The office was empty and hot when the breeze avoided it. Like today, it was warm for spring and there was nothing to do on a lazy Wednesday afternoon in the thirteenth division. Kaien huffed his disapproval at the situation and let his head loll to the side, looking at his captain.

Sitting in the courtyard with legs crossed and abdominal garments missing, Ukitake was feeding the eight-foot Koi in the center pond. He was enjoying himself, baby talking to the fish and feeding the seven of them leafs off a head of lettuce. Every ten seconds a fish would pop its head out of the water and bite Ukitake's hand completely and then gently let go as the man dropped the leaf deep into its throat. He smiled and giggled like a toddler and it made a small smile creep upon his observer's lips.

Kaien looked back at the ceiling fan, ready to contemplate his options for the rest of the day. It was only ten past noon, he had looked at the clock. Miyako was out on a mission to The World of The Living, Lisa was preoccupied performing her captain's duties, and Urahara would ask him to participate in some type of experiment if he showed up at his place. Kaien sighed.

He only had three friends?

"Are you bored Kaien-danna?" The man had grown accustomed to the pet name years ago.

"Hai, Taicho." He turned his head to find Ukitake standing on the threshold. The white hair was pulled out of his face by a clip and sprouted from the crown of his head. He looked like a woman with his pale skin and slender neck. His lieutenant had always admired his captain's good looks, even if they were feminine. And so did someone else.

"Okusan! I'm bored!" The eighth captain appeared next to the thirteenth and wrapped his arms about the man. Kaien turned his head as two small feet landed on his lap, they were Lisa's and she had made herself comfortable on the other side of the couch, leaning back, winking, and resting her lower body on the other lieutenant. He shook his head and smiled lazily at the woman. For once, the captain renowned for his laziness was without his over coat, hat, and haori.

"You two," The taller man pointed to the lieutenants, "Go play somewhere else. We have "important matters" to discuss."

"I don't have any friends." Kaien whined and turned his face into that of a bawling baby.

"Why don't you visit the Kuchiki compound?" Ukitake tried staying positive whilst failing at prying Shunsui's hands from his waist. A look of approval crept unto Kaien's face. He stood, pushing Lisa's tiny feet from his lap and put on his tatami sandals, hurriedly. Walking past the captains to the garden and flash-stepping away, he missed Lisa holding up his uniform top, calling after him.

* * *

It was hot everywhere in the soul society, including the Kuchiki house. Byakuya and his cousins could feel the heat spilling over the roof of the deck and slowly engulfing them. They had been in the garden a few minutes earlier enjoying the burn of the sun, testing each other's endurance when Junko, the teen's personal maidservant, had called the trio to the deck for refreshments. The tall woman placed a drink in the boy's hands, blonde hair falling to her left as she retracted her hands, placing them in the sleeves of her lavender kimono. The teen thanked her for the beverage and gandered down the cross in the fabric over her chest. There wasn't much to see, she was 6'2'' and 130 pounds.

The boy sighed. Looking at his caretaker's boobies didn't excite him much anymore. He gazed at his cousins' chests, much fuller than Junko's, and still he felt nothing. Unsatisfied with being the seventeen-year-old boy with the lowest libido on the planet, he took a swig from his water.

"What do ya'll wanna do now?" Sayuri had an unexplainable southern drawl that matched perfectly with her curly red hair and light freckles. Her eyes were a pale green and she seemed almost transparent. Her lips were only a shade darker than her cheeks and she had no eyebrows unless you were looking for them. She was Byakuya's second cousin and the fourth in line for Ginrei's throne.

"Nothing." Brown eyes and thick black lashes batted at straight, bobbed bangs. The rest of her black hair was pulled at the base of her cranium into a bun, resting against a yellow, Chinese-style top that pulled tight against a body like a childbearing woman's. Her breasts were perky, her lips were pouty like her attitude, and her name was Yuuko, ninth cousin and most eligible for fiancé to the boy.

"Well it's so hot, I think I'm gon' melt! We need someone out here to fan us or somethin'." Byakuya shook his head at the girl's ignorance. No one would fan her.

"I think I see a mirage, guys." Yuuko pointed to a path in the garden. The other two teens turned their attention to the stone walkway.

It was Kaien and he was a running display of desire.

You know how when a guy runs all the muscles on his body bounce with each footfall to the ground? And how in slow motion his hair swings and flows in the wind? How his lips look the fullest when he exhales and his eyes are glazed over with concentration? His skin glistens with the touch of the sun's rays on each bead of sweat on his body and the one on his temple traces the curve of his cheekbone, rides the bend of his jaw, stops at his chin, and then waits for the drop at the sharpest point of his nose to fall first? The veins in his arms create ridges, pulsing with hot, crimson blood and the tendons in his body pull and form those sharp folds that accompany the distinct knuckle at the base of each phalange in his body?

An impossibly conspicuous shiver ran the length of Byakuya's spine. His cousins sat upright and turned their head to their best side and Junko stood upright.

"Hey, Byakuya!" The man slid next to the teen on the wooden deck. His skin was shining and he was slightly out of breath. He looked at the boy, grinning wide and ignoring the women around them. Byakuya swallowed hard as Kaien's chest connected with his upper arm. He was so warm…and sticky.

The red head amongst them cleared her throat obnoxiously, pulling Kaien's eyes from Byakuya's.

"Ain't you gon' introduce us to yer fran', Byakuya-kun?" Her smile was oozing with virtue.

"Shiba Kaien, Kuchiki Yuuko, Kuchiki Sayuri, and Kuchiki Junko." The boy pointed to people as he said their name. He still hadn't taken his eyes off the tall man's chest.

"Ladies." The Shiba nodded his head and smiled at them. The girl's giggled and it made Byakuya cringe.

"Let me get you a towel, Shiba-sama." Junko started to walk towards the tearoom entrance.

"Ah, thank you, Junko-chan." He said wiping the sweat from his nose.

"So, Kaien-dono, how do you know Byakuya?" Sayuri licked her lips at the end of her sentence. She gave Byakuya a challenging look to which the boy scowled.

"Where is your shirt?" Byakuya cut the man off, right after he took a breath to speak.

"I left it at the thirteenth division, which is way on the other side of the Sereitei, by the way."

"I think I know my way around my home." The boy looked unimpressed.

"Well it was longer than I th-"

"How do you know our cousin?" Yuuko interrupted the teal-eyed man, smoothly. Kaien turned in her direction.

"Oh, we're friends." The maidservant had returned with the towel, she waited until he was done speaking to hand it to him. "I'm the lieutenant of the thirteenth division and his father and my captain are old friends…er, not old, they've known each other a long time."

"A lieutenant! Wow! Soon you'll be a captain, huh?" The girl with the curls was laying it on thick but said lieutenant didn't notice. He was silently thanking the blonde maidservant for the towel. She blushed and sauntered out of the room, flashing an "in-your-face" look as she did so.

Byakuya shot a look at the Shiba, who was currently paying attention to Yuuko. They had met and talked once. Was that really a ground for friendship?

"Our squad had finished the duties for the day so my captain told me to take a load off." Kaien shrugged and rubbed the towel over his neck. The girls were practically drooling at the man. He was probably the only one they were exposed to outside of their relatives. It was actually quite rare for a Kuchiki girl to leave the compound before she was married. Byakuya sighed. He couldn't quite figure what was so appealing about armpit hair. Then he frowned, he didn't have any yet.

"So, do you want to?" Kaien was looking at the teen.

"What?" Byakuya had missed the words. He was just as bad as the girls, missing bits and pieces of the conversation while staring at post puberty additions. He looked at his cousins who simply nodded violently and smiled as piranhas would.

"Go for a run?" Kaien looked eager.

"Let's play Flash-tag, instead." A wicked grin spread across the boy's face.

"What's th-"

"You're it!" The boy had smacked the man's chest and jumped to the far wall that enclosed the garden. He turned with a small smile and a blush and took off. Kaien stood.

"Ladies." He nodded again, leaping to the exact spot the boy was a moment earlier and then disappeared. The Kuchiki girls giggled madly and began discussing their new acquaintance.

* * *

The Shiba had caught him several times. Each time, insisting that Byakuya not be "it".

"Come on, before the sun sets!" The Kuchiki called behind him. He could feel the man on his heels and his legs were growing tired, Kaien was much faster than Yoruichi.

"Just give yourself up, boy! You can't keep running forever!" Byakuya touched the ground and then leapt unto another roof; Kaien copied his movements with ease and sent a gust of wind into the marketplace they had disturbed. "Oops."

"Sure I can! You can't keep up, though, _fattie_!" The boy turned from the wall surrounding the market place in the fourth district and leapt into the forest.

"Now, now, it's getting dark! What happens if you fall? I won't be able to find you!" Byakuya could hear the chuckle rumbling in the man's voice and continued jumping, grinning at his cleverness.

"You're fat _and_ blind? I'm pale, you should be able to see me!"

"As a porcelain doll!" Kaien giggled to himself, he could see Byakuya in front of him now. With an extra kick off a solid branch, he flew through the air and tackled the young man. They fell to the ground with a yelp and a grunt.

"Ow! Get off, you're so heavy!" Byakuya pushed at the solid body on top of him, he really was heavy.

"Nah, I don't feel like it." The lieutenant shifted to rest his head on his palms and smother the boy with his weight. He had successfully placed himself between Byakuya's legs.

"Get off!" A pink hue found its place on the boy' cheeks as he found all he could do was thrash beneath the man and pull his legs up and out. He struggled to get them from around Kaien.

"What, don't like the forest floor? Should've thought about that before you ran out here." He, too, noticed the compromising placement of the boy's legs and grinned. A struggling sound escaped Byakuya's lips as he tried to free his arms from underneath the broad chest.

"No! A nobleman doesn't belong on his _back_ trapped underneath another man!" He blushed realizing that he had just turned this into _that_ kind of situation. "In the forest."

"The _only_ man here is pinning _you _to the ground, _**boy**_." Kaien leaned back and pushed himself from the tiny body below his, grinning. Byakuya's heart was in his ears in that tiny moment when the Shiba had only pushed his upper body from the ground and was still connected to the boy, below the waist, that is.

"Let's go back; your grandfather is probably worried about you." The man stood and turned as the last pale light of the evening collected on his back, dimly outlining the strength underneath his tanned hide. The boy stood, his legs immediately disobeying him. He steadied himself with a thick bicep.

"So, are you going to the Summertime Ball?" Byakuya frowned at the man, exhausted legs temporarily forgotten. How appropriate.

"It's for members of the Court Guard Squads, is it not?"

"Well whose gonna point out that you're there?"

"People who know me."

"But it's your house. Just say you stumbled out of bed for some warm milk." Kaien winked at him.

"I'm _seventeen_." Byakuya hated when people kidded about his age.

"No, you're not." He was laughing, genuinely thinking the statement a joke. "Oh."

He caught sight of the teen's face.

Neither man said anything the entire distance back to the Kuchiki compound.

Kaien caught Byakuya's wrist.

"You gotta sneak in." The Shiba's face was stoic, but the teen couldn't take him seriously, crouching on the top of the garden wall as they were.

"I know." Byakuya tried to sound annoyed.

"Goodnight, Byakuya." Kaien let go of the boy's wrist and patted his shoulder. He leapt off the rooftop towards the thirteenth barracks. The raven-haired boy watched as the man disappeared out of sight. He looked truly rugged leaping from rooftop to rooftop shirtless. The teen shook his head and leapt to the outside entrance to his room.

Silently opening and then closing the wooden door, he held his breath. Waiting for any sort of disturbance from the hallway, Byakuya began to undress and throw his clothes in a pile on the floor. He rummaged through the drawers in his dresser for a yukata, settling on a lavender one and slipped into his futon. That was the first time he had ever been out past curfew and his heart was pounding.

He laid his head on the pillow, after untying his raven locks, and sighed. Waiting for sleep to overcome him, he watched the tiny stars, secretly hoping that his next encounter with the Shiba wasn't going to be another two weeks away.

* * *

MUWHAHAHAHAAA.

I'm not big on OC's. Just forget those women are there.


	3. Urges

**_Urges_**

Byakuya was getting sick of this. He tossed his head for the fortieth time, forcing the air hard out of his lungs and scowling at the sweat slicked strands glued to his neck.

"Give it up, Bya-bo." Yoruichi was in a fighting stance, legs apart and fists clenched around the hilt of her sparring stick. "Just ask for it nicely."

"I will not bow down to a thief, namely you." The boy stepped back, still focused on the feet of his opponent, nostrils flared, and hair attached to the top of his spine.

The sky above them roared abruptly and the boy flinched at the sudden noise. A grin snuck into place on the captain's mouth as his eyes opened again and then disappeared as a flash raced through the ashy sky. She didn't like lightning.

"Give me my hair tie." The boy moved to a more hostile position, still breathing rapidly in accord with the tanned woman. A single sweat drop ran down her temple.

"How long are you planning on keeping this up? It's been," She glanced at her bulky watch, a gift from doting Soi Fon. "An hour!"

Quickly, she dropped her stick and leapt to the wall of the garden. She winked at the boy and disappeared, with Byakuya's hair band.

"Hey!" Byakuya threw his sparring stick next to hers. "Come back here! Give it back!"

The only response was crashing applause from the creeping clouds. Byakuya jumped and looked at the sky.

"What are you going do? Rain on me?" Defiantly glaring at the atmosphere, he folded his arms and roughly placed his weight on his left leg. Another bolt of lightning ran the length of the clouds.

"Why are you all sweaty?"

The boy jerked his head down to find a tall man standing a dozen feet from him.

"Kaien!" Byakuya stopped himself from smiling and found a more agitated tone. "Why are you here?"

It had been 10 days since their forest adventure. The boy had counted.

"Just came to hang out." He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked to the ground. "Things been a little boring around the squad with everyone still gone and everything…"

"What did you want to do?" Byakuya remained in his pouty pose.

"Wanna spar?" The man looked at him.

"I just did with Yoruichi." He looked at the sticks lying on the ground, as did Kaien. The thunder roared again in the sky and to hide his reaction, Byakuya walked over and grabbed Yoruichi's sword. The lieutenant reached for the other, watching as the boy walked back to his spot in the grass and prepared his defense.

"Whoa," Kaien looked disappointed and bored at the same time. "Can't believe Yoruichi didn't teach you this."

Byakuya adopted an offended face as the man stepped toward him, past him, and then stopped behind him.

"Legs apart." The man pushed his knee between the boy's thighs and placed large hands on slim hips. Said hip's corresponding heart began to beat rapidly. "Bend your knees. And pu-"

Again, the troubled sky gave an emphatic crash and the boy jumped, pushing his body directly into the man behind him, or rather the man-hood behind him, and closing his legs around a thick knee. Kaien's jaw tightened as the boy tensed, the outcry of the heavens growing impossibly loud above the pair.

Byakuya opened eyes he hadn't consciously closed at the feeling of heavy fingertips squeezing trembling hips. He felt the top of a strong thigh pushed against a most intimate of places and his heart leapt straight into his throat.

"It's just thunder." His voice was guttural, croaking, and gentle in the boy's ear.

Byakuya gasped as the thunder replacing the period in the man's sentence shook the ground and the sky started to fall, soft tears diving for the ground and growing in numbers. Kaien wrapped a burly hand around a lanky bicep and pulled the boy. Walking backwards to the house, Byakuya dragged his feet, watching as the ground started to shine and his hakama became dark. He turned around when they had reached the deck and stepped up and into the house, following the tall man.

Both respected the continuous and full pitter patter on the roof and its accompanying drumming. They slowed as they approached an elderly maid, who was prepared with several towels, she turned and started in the direction of Byakuya's quarters, and escorted the pair into the young man's personal bath. Kaien began to strip and the maid turned to wait outside the washroom.

Byakuya breathed deeply, a good breath, a yoga-type breath, and proceeded to remove his drenched and sleeveless kimono top. Once naked, he turned to see the perfect curve of a nude Kaien's ass getting into the tub. The boy suddenly felt very naked, as if he was only bones and every secret sin that was a part of his life was written very plainly on a sign hanging from his neck. The man smiled as he sat in the tiny tub, cheeks gaining a rosy undertone as he took in the sight of the frail body. Byakuya didn't notice, he was too busy being reminded of all the places he was supposed to have grown hair by now. He shook his head and climbed in the warm water.

The tub really was tiny, just big enough for three people, Byakuya's size, and he was not a very large person. Kaien grinned and tucked his hands behind his head, displaying his armpit hair again. Byakuya thought it looked soft.

He scrunched his nose at that thought and mentally lit it on fire. Then blushed.

"You got a sweet deal here, huh?" The lieutenant opened one eye.

The boy shrugged and tried to focus on the man's eye while he was being spoken to. He was soon sucked into the teal orb's prowess.

"I didn't know you were scared of thunder." Byakuya looked at the man

"It's just so loud…" Byakuya looked into the water, immediately realizing the fact that with puberty not only came hair. He tried to cross his legs, inconspicuously, and then looked back at Kaien. He was fully interested in the boy now. "I mean, I am _not_."

The man chuckled quietly and then suddenly reached past the young man, closing the distance between the duo. Byakuya's breath caught in his throat as Kaien's Adam's apple stopped, touching his nose.

"Thank you, miss." He retracted back to the other side of the tub, hand still extended toward the boy. He was holding a hair tie. "Here."

Byakuya's cheeks were on fire.

"You…feelin' alright?" Kaien reached for the Kuchiki's forehead.

"I'm fine!" The soft side of the man's hand caught Byakuya off guard, a small and ever so airy breath escaping his lips.

"You feel alright." The hair band was tickling the boy's nose.

"Told you!" The young man reached for the white elastic, and up to put his hair up. In a little black bun on the top of his head. The lieutenant snickered.

"What?" The boy questioned.

"You're so cute." Byakuya's heart skipped a beat. He didn't understand why he was getting so giddy around the naked man.

* * *

Kaien had returned to the Thirteenth barracks, Ginrei hadn't come home yet another night, and the rain continued to pour to the earth. Byakuya sighed and turned in his futon, facing the window.

He had been mauling over the events of this afternoon for the past two hours, watching absentmindedly as the crescent moon climbed higher and higher into the stars. Running a hand through his black locks, he smiled and remembered the comment the lieutenant had made. No, it wasn't just a comment, it was a compliment. He had said something nice about him. And not just any old thing, like "wonderful posture, Byakuya" or "you're so unpredictable sometimes, Bya-bo". He had called him _cute_. The boy touched his chest, remembering the chest of the man. It was hairy. But so solid, so strong, so tan. Tan like his shoulders, but not as wide. They were so broad and looked so good in his kimono top. Which was the perfect size. Byakuya turned to lay on his back.

Like when they were in the forest. The lieutenant had been smiling, while trapping the boy to the ground. He liked having the boy on his back. Byakuya blushed, recalling the crushing feeling of Kaien smothering his body. And when he had leaned back to push himself up. The brief moment before he started to push had felt like an eternity. His cheeks grew redder every moment he thought about the feeling of Kaien between his legs. Byakuya moved to cross his legs over the heat pooling in his crotch and gasped.

He had a hard on.

The boy sat up. And then looked down at the tent he had made in the sheets. He paused and mentally scowled the protrusion, unable to will it away because of his understanding to why he was excited. He laid back in his bed and sighed, placing his hands into his forehead. He tried not to recall the feeling of the man's hands on his forehead. And his arm. And his _hips_.

The boy swallowed hard and tentatively snuck his hand under the sheets, other hand slipping across his head to cover his eyes. Pausing with his hand on his belly, Byakuya's heart began to pound, nervous because of he was a novice. Slowly, he reached lower and lower until he could feel himself through his yukuta.

Breathing hard, Byakuya reached into the overlap of the green fabric, imagining his trembling hand that of someone much more experienced.

* * *

I got my idea for the Starrk x Byakuya story.

And most of the first chapter written. Yay!

I just need a title. Wanna help? Think of words related to photography.


	4. Dating

_**Dating**_

"Don't you think it would be fun?" Kaien smiled, perfect white teeth gleaming in the light of the afternoon.

Byakuya sighed, moving to pull his legs further into his chest. He let it show on his face that he wasn't truly against the idea of going into the streets of the Rukongai, pushing his long black locks from his shoulder to join the rest of his pony tail.

"I talked to Ukitake-Taicho about it," The man looked more intently at the boy, ignoring the beauty of the garden on this breezy afternoon. "He said he'd talk to your grandfather."

"What did he say?" That caught his attention. He wiggled his bare toes against the wood of the deck.

"That he trusts his grandson to a noble young man such as me." His face was cocky, eyes focused on the adorable digits.

The boy placed his head on his knees, soft fabric of his blue hakama grazed by long lashes.

"Fine." The lieutenant's face lit up. "But you have to wear something other than your uniform."

"Yes!" The man leapt from his seat to the center of the garden and then the wall. The Kuchiki smiled, shaking his head at the man, and then jumped to follow him back to the thirteenth barracks.

Which really were as far as Kaien had said they were. He had never been to the barracks but had visited the offices of the thirteenth division several times, a bonus of his friendship with Ukitake, who was sleeping serenely in his office, draped seductively on the green couch. Kaien brushed past him to the single, enormous desk in the room, leaving Byakuya at the door.

"Ukitake-Taicho," Kaien shifted through the papers on the piece of deep brown table, refusing the unused chair of his captain.

The ancient man leaned forward, blinking groggily at the tall man, and touched his chest. His knees were brought together, making him appear humble along with tense shoulders and the curve of his back. He exhaled hard, unaware of the boy leaning against the door.

"Kaien-dana, what are you doing here?" Ukitake turned towards the man, sitting up and letting his long white locks spill from his shoulders. He rested his elbows on his knees and let his hands clasp together extended out from his legs.

"Are you feeling alright?" Kaien grabbed three official looking papers and placed them on the top of the pile, ignorant of the purple orbs focused on his strong hands. "You should lie down in your bed if you don't feel well, captain."

"Nonsense," Ukitake ran a bony hand through his hair, smiling at the younger man. "I feel fine, Kaien. What are you doing back here?"

"Byakuya and I are gonna go to the festival." Byakuya frowned. He hadn't been told of this festival. "Are you sure?'

"Yes, I'm fine." The man raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "You know, Miyako will be returning from her mission to The World of The Living soon."

"Great," Kaien sighed, reading over several of the papers that were thrown about his captain's desk. Ukitake smiled, only blinking twice in response. Turning to his right he noticed the boy leaning against the door. His face lit up as the boy's did. "Byakuya-kun!"

"Hi, Ukitake." He walked over and sat next to the white-haired man on the couch.

"Are you looking forward to the festival?" The tall man wrapped an arm around the boy.

"I didn't know there was one," Byakuya looked toward Kaien. "I was just told we were going to Rukongai."

"Ah, yes. The townspeople are celebrating a good year of commerce. They throw a festival every year at the beginning of May for fun." He was beaming by the end of his short tale.

"And they sell good food." Kaien was smiling, looking straight at the boy. He walked around the desk and stopped in front of the duo. "I'm gonna go change and then we can leave."

Byakuya watched as the man walked out of the door, taking no notice when Ukitake removed his arm and grinned behind him.

* * *

The streets were lined with lanterns, illuminating the bright colors of the townspeople's best clothes and the brand new merchandise filling the salespersons' carts. Young couples stopped at every stand or booth, asking what was for sale as young women admired the artistry on the garments. The men walked the center of the streets; eyes alert to find the prettiest girl with the most seductive curves and parents led their children toward the gypsies and the magicians to admire their art and talent. Every shop on was lit up for attention, owner's sons shouting for the people's attention and over flowing with customers. People watched the entertainers with food and purchased trinkets in hand, awestruck by the wonders that the festival had to offer.

Across from the stand the duo was currently investigating, there was a little girl, no older than four, watching as one by one customers came for a chef's kabobs. She was unattended and wearing rags but smiling nonetheless. Noticing the sweet grin missing its two front most teeth, a swordsman crouched next to the girl, handsome features grinning right back at the child. He extended a kabob in her direction, giggling as the little hand took his offering. She mimicked his laughter as he stood. He turned to leave, still smiling but paused when the girl clutched onto his hakama. He gazed back down at the blue orbs, grinning sweetly and taking the tiny palm in his rough hand. Something poked Byakuya's cheek.

"I said "Do you want any?"" Kaien grinned, confused. His confusion sparked the boy's own.

"Why are you grinning?" Byakuya raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you smiling like that?" His smile widened and he shifted back towards the stand's clerk. Byakuya released his lips, turning back to where the little girl had been. It seemed she had followed the man off.

"Here." The lieutenant handed the young man a cup filled with red liquid. "It's juice."

The boy frowned; reminded that he was too young to drink alcohol as Kaien took a sip of his sake. He took the drink, insisting to himself that it wasn't fruit punch. They stepped away from the booth, assimilating into the crowd in their plain clothes. Byakuya was wearing printed hakama with a white and blue pattern, accentuating the white color of his sleeveless kimono top and the onyx glow of his hair. Kaien's attire consisted of a deep green, sleeveless kimono top, with charcoal-like hakama and obi.

"Do you wanna look at the gypsies?" Kaien took another gulp of sake, string directly at the boy.

"Fine." Byakuya's frown faded as he lifted his beige cup to his lips. As he did so, several children ran past him, knocking his elbow, and drenching his face and white shirt in the red liquid. The Shiba burst into laughter when he huffed, shaking his head. He looked after the child that ruined his outfit.

"Little bastard." The child had been lost in the villagers, hiding somewhere amongst the hips of the adults.

"Come on." Kaien grabbed the boy's arm, dragging him to some undisclosed location.

"Where are we going?" As he was pulled through the crowd of commoners, he lost his cup, dropping it and the rest of his still unidentified red liquid on the ground. He huffed his disappointment.

The light of a shop rested on the ground near Byakuya's feet, signaling the pair's arrival at their destination. The boy turned, finding only the broad shoulders of the lieutenant in his view. Stepping to the side he found an elderly woman in front of Kaien.

"We seem to have had a little accident." The tall man threw his large hands onto the boy's shoulders, dragging him between his frame and the woman's. His tanned hands squeezed gently on the slim figure. Byakuya could hear the charming grin in his voice. "Can you help us?"

"Of course, young man," She was stout, not reaching past the boy's shoulder, and ancient. With her hands tucked neatly into the sleeves of her purple kimono, she smiled. Her face wrinkled like uncrinkled foil as her already squinty eyes disappeared into a thin line.

"Thank you, miss." The old woman giggled as Kaien bowed. The man turned to leave, nodding to the three women in the corner of the shop before exiting. They, too, giggled. What was it with women and that nod?

"Uh, Kaien wh-" The woman took the boy's lanky arm.

"Come, sweet heart, we're going to get you cleaned up." He looked more surprised than offended at her gesture. He couldn't shout at her for touching nobility, she was just a little old lady.

She pulled Byakuya away from the bustling crowd outside the shop and toward a beaded curtain. The boy looked toward the women in the corner, still smiling about the handsome lieutenant and inspecting the clothing hanging around the tiny store. The handiwork was meticulous and the colors bold. The only problem was that they were women's clothes.

In the back of the shop, there were two other women. One about Kaien's age, petite frame, button nose, and shining black eyes. Her hair had a purple undertone that shined as she turned to face the boy, smiling kindly. The woman across from her mirrored her image, sporting mildly aged skin and sparse gray hairs. She, too, smiled at the young man.

"This is my daughter, Hina, and her daughter, Misaki." An aged hand gestured toward her kin. "We'll get you all cleaned up for your fiancé."

Byakuya began to nod, pausing for a double take when the woman's words registered. The old woman simply smiled. He turned to her daughter who was already on her feet and striding towards the boy. She had placed an ornamented pair of hakama on the cushion where she sat and pressed her palm into the small of the boy's back, pushing him into the tiny room behind the one they were standing. A crimson curtain blocked their path.

"What scent of soap does your fiancé prefer?" She pushed the curtain out of his path, smiling with sealed eyes and gently shoving him inside. "You smell of cherry blossoms."

He nodded; surprised that a woman couldn't even chose that intimate a detail of her life. He stepped into the tiled room, discovering it to be a very small bathhouse, already filled with steam and a heated tub large enough for a couple. He turned to Hina, mouth the least bit ajar and brow raised.

"Please." She extended a small feminine hand towards his shoulder, black orbs now open and fully focused on the young man. When allowed, she took hold of the fabric on his shoulder and pulled it down his lanky arm.

Byakuya looked to her eyes, distracted by the fabric ghosting over his skin. He turned back when she paused, already aware of his slightly muscled chest being exposed. The kind expression had faltered, only to be replaced by a more emphatic one. She continued to undress the boy, calling to her daughter as she removed his final piece of clothing. As she entered, the girl took in the sight of the boy, continuing gracefully to collect his fallen garments and placing a bucket of soapy water at her mother's foot. Byakuya blushed, unable to decide which woman to focus on. He closed his eyes as Hina walked to find a rag. She dipped the cloth in the cherry-scented liquid, wringing out the tiny fabric as the elder woman entered, carrying rags free of water. After each gathering a large amount of the turbid water in their cloths, they began to softly scrub him, rinsing away the dirt of the townspeople and sticky red stains of his beverage.

Eyes shooting open and back arching, he gasped, surprised at the sudden pressure applied to the more intimate parts of his person. Misaki giggled, walking briskly to the other side of the small room and reaching for a medium sized basin. She dipped the metal tub into the steaming water at her feet and stepped back to the trio. She waited as Hina scrubbed the bottom of Byakuya's ticklish foot, biting back a smile as the boy began to giggle, squirming in the grip of the two women. Misaki's grandmother stepped back from cleaning his lower legs, pulling the boy to bend at the waist as Hina took hold of the other sensitive extremity and applied suds. The elderly woman combed her hands through the raven locks smiling at the boy's child-like laughter.

"Close your eyes, dear." Her voice was soft yet firm at the bubbles began to foam from Byakuya's scalp and drip down his shoulders.

Hina smiled, dropping her rag into the first bucket her daughter had brought to her and grabbing the receptacle off the ground. Misaki stepped forward and doused the pale and slim figure with the steaming water. With a yelp, the boy curled into himself and just as quickly as the water had come; it was replaced by downy towels padding his flesh. The youngest of the women squeezed the water from his hair and twisted the onyx strands into an enormous towel matching the orange of the other two. In a well-practiced sequence, the two older women removed their towels and pulled vials of cream from their kimonos, unscrewing the lids and rubbing the moisture into every inch of his skin. Misaki untwisted the towel and began smothering his noggin with the thick terrycloth. As her elders continued, she began to massage sweet scented oil into the boy's hair, pulling gently on the strands, as they grew thick and shiny. Misaki released the locks, leaving them to fall about his shoulders.

Her mother left the room shortly and returned with her arms full of teal and golden silks. Pulling Byakuya's arms up and then down almost harshly, her relatives dressed the boy in the piece of drowning fabric matching the color of Kaien's eyes. Hina placed the boy's arms above his head allowing her daughter to tightly bind Byakuya's mid-drift with the golden silk. All three froze at the sound of a bell.

"Uh, Ladies?" The teal-eyed lieutenant had returned from his undisclosed quest. Again, he called for the attention of the shop owners. "Hello?"

The elder woman hurried to the front of the boutique, rubbing the remaining lotion into her palms and then pushing them back into her sleeves. The two women in the washroom refocused their attention on Byakuya, throwing his hair unto one shoulder and applying a light lotion to the boy's doughy cheeks.

"Smile." Hina said gently. Her own smile enticed the boy to grin, trying to suppress a giggle.

Gingerly she led him past the red and beaded curtains and into the front of the shop.

"Oh." Kaien gandered at the boy for a solid thirty seconds, only tearing his eyes from the pretty sight when the elder woman cleared her throat. "You look…_really_…good."

Byakuya tried to breathe, unable to keep his cheeks from turning a seared red, and looked at the ground. He hadn't expected a compliment. Whenever he had been with the were-cat and clothed in a kimono, she had told him that he made quite the little queen. To which he would pout and act as un-lady-like as possible without seeming unrefined.

Kaien had finished paying the women and taken his place in front of the boy.

"Come," The boy scrunched his nose at the command. "We haven't seen everything in the street yet."

Byakuya began to walk toward the lieutenant. The Shiba lead the boy out of the shop as they both thanked the trio of women behind the counter. With a wave and a grin, both men turned into the streets, walking towards a stationary crowd. From the distance they were at, they could hear the calls of the entertainers dancing, daring the men and enchanting the children.

"We are here for the most beautiful girl in all the Rukongai, good townspeople!" The only woman without an instrument, a collection of chains and lockets, or a scarf in hand shouted. She was scanning the crowd, grinning wildly. After a moment, she had spotted her target, making eye contact. "_Come_, child, _dear_, child!"

The boy froze.

She began to spin in his direction, which Kaien noted was an effective way of clearing her path.

"What is your name, siren- Ah! Never mind, that is your name!" She clasped his pale hand in her tanned ones. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! This is our sister of the night, Siren!"

Her fellow bohemian goddesses gave a great whooping sound of a high pitch and fast paced "aye-aye-ayah!". Byakuya turned to Kaien as the woman pulled him, the lieutenant simply clapping with the rest of the crowd as the young dancer took the stage, or rather the dirt circle, in the middle of the crowd. The Kuchiki mentally cursed him for his abandonment.

"Do you not agree that this is truly a divine creature?" The woman raised his hand high, her onyx nest of curls responding to the jerky movement. The children cheered, the women clapped and men gave catcalls, winking, and spouting lewd comments at the bamboozled boy. "Who is that handsome prince that has brought you to us tonight?"

Byakuya tried to form words, only able to move his pink lips and dainty jaw open and closed like a daft fish. The sweet, pouted morsel labeled his mouth only lured the males of the crowd further.

"Your fiancé?" The tzigane woman winked at him and lowered her voice. "He's a cutie-pie."

He looked back to the tall man, silently pleading for rescue. Ignoring his request, Kaien winked, strong arms folded tightly in front of his chest. As the boy mouthed an insult to his "fiancé", the gypsy pulled on his slim wrist. The teal and gold trimmed kimono started to slip from the boy's pale shoulder.

"Do you dance?" She whispered close to his ear, voice competing with the lewd sounds of the spectators. He shook his head furiously, two sets of purple orbs staring deep into one another. Her lavender ones were rimmed with a thick black line, enhanced by the natural, dark hue of the skin surrounding her eyes.

With an emphatic call to her sisters, she silenced the crowd, throwing her arms in the air and began to circle around the boy. She watched him as a predator would, eyes hungry and the tiniest hint of distain marking her features. The seated bohemians jumped up to follow her, each joining in the line of salacious women as the first continued round. As each partook in the dance, the leader's disposition was mimicked and the boy subconsciously reminded himself that this was only an act. Once at an arm's distance from the final addition, the leader halted. With harmonized movements, the group turned towards the crowd, and simultaneously threw their right legs out parallel to the dirt stage and the opposite arm to the sky, palm reaching for the heavens. Byakuya swallowed hard as a few more than a dozen voluptuous hips began to jerk. The audience stirred from their silence, hollering for the gypsies' dance.

"Townspeople!" The original woman cried. "Help us celebrate the genesis of our sister!"

And with her command the band began to strum, beat, and serenade the crowd emphatically. The mass of people obediently followed, pouring into the circle to sway, thrust, and twirl to the women's hymn. The pale figure at the center nearly screamed as the boldest of the men rushed towards him, the less lustful finding contentment with the beautiful women acting as his ring of protection. Said ring was currently growing smaller as the townspeople pushed through and several guards began to twirl about the people. A few large hands reached for the trap, grabbing only air as a warm cuff firmly gripped his wrist and pulled him back through the herd. Byakuya had yelped figuring he had been claimed for the evening, unable to free his tiny arm from the hand leading him. The tight hold disabled him from spinning to face his assailant and caused his defeat as he was quickly ushered into a nearby alley. The large hand sunk away.

"You're welcome," Kaien sighed, catching the spread hand flying toward his face and grinning. Byakuya froze.

"Th-thank you." The boy released the tension in his arm and the Shiba let it fall to his side.

"Wow, you…" The man shook his head, wiping imaginary drool from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and greedily taking in the image of the boy. The Kuchiki turned his head, faltering in his regularly smooth manner under the scrutiny and pulling his knees together whilst re-covering his shoulders. His fair complexion let his embarrassment shine. Remembering the crowd, the lieutenant said, "Let's go."

* * *

It had been past midnight when the duo had entered back into the calm of the sereitei. The few soul reapers still prowling the streets stayed hidden in the shadows and didn't dare to disturb the silence of the night. The Kuchiki sighed, wondering if someone had informed the night guards of his resting spot for the night.

Kaien had brought him to the thirteenth barracks, arguing that a disturbance of the Kuchiki compound at this hour would cause an uproar and that wouldn't have sat well with his grandfather. Not a good mark on either of their records.

"Come on, milord, it's late." The Shiba had returned from the washroom, standing in the moonlight spilling from the window opposite the room of the boy. He was shirtless, face fresh after the scrubbing it received at the sink but contaminated by the tiniest bit of stubble on his chin. Sentimental expression in place, he stared at his companion. "Hmmm?"

The sound was quiet and deep in the man's throat, bringing Byakuya back from his admiration and into the reality of sleeping with the teal-eyed lieutenant. Kaien began to walk around the bed, orbs still focused on the violet ones as he neared, taking no sadistic gratification in the red hue of the boy's cheeks. Said boy raised his head as the tall man stood before him, his own head lowered to allow him a better visual. He looked defeated.

"Okay." Byakuya all but whispered. The Shiba reached for him, cupping the back of a lanky arm, and pulling the pale figure from the window-side bench. Obediently, he stood and followed the tall man to the nearest side of the bed. Removing the sheets, he climbed into his side of the queen-sized futon. It was smaller than his was and ten times more inviting. Turning to lay in his stomach, he took no notice of the man climbing in behind him.

Kaien made himself comfortable against the curve of the boy's backside with great confidence and a slurred form of "Sorry, I'm just so tired". He yawned, pushing warm air unto the young nobleman's neck and fumbling for a comfortable positioning for his arm. After a bit, he placed it around the slim waist in front of him.

Byakuya was glad they were spooning. Kaien couldn't see the fact that he had mystically transformed into a tomato at his touch. He struggled to reign in his thoughts and emotions, mentally tossing the thought of wiggling out of his grasp into an imaginary garbage bin. After a few minutes of excitement, he began to feel sleep beckoning to his mind. As he yawned, the man behind him shifted to rest his head on the boy's shoulder. The boy smiled, letting his mind fall to calls of the midnight hour and letting his body relax into the solid one behind him.

* * *

HOLY SHIT.

I haven't had the chance to write in sooooooooooooooo long.

School has been riding my ass like crazy and sleep(or what little I get of it) has been devouring the rest of my time. But, because you all have been so patient, I wrote double what I usually do.

And to top off my miserable life, we haven't had water in our house the entire weekend. As in, I've been on a showering hiatus for what should be an illegal amount of time.

Anyways, thank ya'lls for reading this. Do review!(but isn't that implied?)


	5. Plan

**_Plan_**

The sun danced through the outside halls of the Kuchiki Manor, beaming into the windows and reflecting on the spotless floor. The doors to the young heir's bedroom welcomed the sounds of nature as they sprang from the freshly groomed garden resting just beyond the deck. Two pink lips parted with an almost inaudible "smack", accompanying heavy lids as they made their way up shining purple orbs and back down, repeating the process several times before resting in their natural space, halfway up the boy's eyes.

Byakuya stretched, lazily, arching his back as he lay on his side, enjoying the vibrant colors of the flowers. Immediately, he frowned at the clamoring and distressed calls amplifying as they travelled the hall to his quarters.

This was June. This was the beginning of the preparations for the Summertime Ball.

Throwing the covers off himself, he stood and stumbled down the tiny hall to his private toilet, sitting to pee and finding the cold of porcelain on his ass uncomforting in this early hour of his day. It was actually ten o'clock.

The boy huffed, stretching his pretty face with his hands and running them through his onyx locks. He stood again, quickly rinsing his hands in the sink after closing the toilet and tying the red yukuta he was wearing. He made his way out of his room and down the lengthy hall, slamming open the double doors to the large passageway through the main branch of the Kuchiki clan's quarters. He passed the servants on their ladders and stools as they ornamented their way through the compound, pausing to bow and apologize for his bad mood and their rambunctious activities as he stomped past.

He was on the search for Junko, his maidservant, and didn't pause for pleasantries with any of the family or help he encountered, bamboozled by such a humble appearance by the heir. He walked through the kitchen, his personal garden, his grandfather's, the memorial one of his parents, the training, and the large reserve for the servant's quarters. Frowning and flash-stepping back to his private deck, he muttered to himself the question of what good a staff of three hundred was if they were _all_ preoccupied.

He stepped back into the room, walking into the enormous closet that contained all his apparel, and pulling a couple random garments from the drawers and racks. He strutted back out, undressing without closing the doors to the outside and pulling on a green, silver frog adorned kimono with a black sash. The boy didn't bother with his hair, deciding to put it on his right shoulder and saunter out onto the deck. After a moment, he found his way back into the closet and added a fundoshi to his attire.

Stepping into his room, a knock sounded on the door. He sighed, knowing it was Junko rushing to find, dress and bathe him at the request of his relatives. Opening the door roughly, he spun and avoided looking at her.

"Child, you need to bathe." Before she had even begun to get up, the boy had undone his obi. He got naked and waited for her to fetch a clean yukuta from the closet, turning his back to her as she slipped the baby blue silk over his arms.

She walked him to the main branch's bath and heated the water from his grandfather's cleansing that morning. Quietly, she pulled a basin and a short stool from the closet and undressed him. Indignantly, he sat on the stool and let her scrub and rinse him before following her to the square tub and sliding in. Pouting as she looked on, he pulled the towel from atop his noggin and sunk into the water, blowing the air out of his lungs and letting his knees emerge. Shortly after he started to contemplate how he should spend the rest of this day, a bony hand pulled him from the water.

"Let me brush your hair." Junko placed the towel back on his head and reached for the comb, moving her stool behind the side of the bath he was leaning against. She pulled the onyx strands out of the tub and ran the teeth of the jade comb smoothly through. "What are you going to do today?"

"Mmmm. I don't know." He sighed, letting the sensation of a slight pull on his scalp take hold of his senses and relax him.

"You could visit Ukitake-sama." She began to smooth his hair over with her hand after each tug of the comb.

"I could." He closed his eyes.

"Or your grandfather." She heard footsteps coming down the hall.

"No." He pulled his arms out of the tub and rested his head in her lap atop a towel.

"Maybe you could train with Yoruichi-dono."

"I don't want to train." He squeezed her knee as someone knocked on the door. "I'm tired of it."

"Maybe have tea with your cousins."

"I did that last Saturday." Gently, she lifted him and strode to the door. He watched her slide open it and look down upon a bright-eyed, petite girl kneeling. She bowed to him, avoiding eye-contact and spoke to Junko in hushed tones. He splashed the water, cupping it and throwing it over his hair and rubbing his eyes, disinterested in their muted conversation.

Maybe he would visit Ukitake. He was quite unoccupied for a captain, always lounging or enjoying his favorite leisurely activities. More importantly, he was much more of an intellect than his god-forsaken cousins.

Junko looked back at him and closed the door as the girl bowed again. She waltzed back to the tub and placed the towel in a pile with his barely dirtied yukuta. Grabbing two clean towels, she turned back to him.

"I think I'll visit with Ukitake-san." He said, pushing himself from the tub.

* * *

The thirteenth division was the most traditional compound of the court guard squads, complete with gardens, fountains, fields, ponds and tatami rooms, only. The stone walls were rather thin, fooling the Kuchiki heir as he leapt onto one and found less footing than expected. He heard a couple of the squad members chuckling as he tumbled over and landed in a bush inside the captain's official garden. Rolling out of the flora, his eyes were met with a set of welcoming brown ones and a gentle wave of the hand. Ukitake was smiling at him, sitting cross-legged beside his koi pond with a nearly devoured head of lettuce in hand and the captain of the eighth squad lying behind him, face covered with his fancy, rice patty hat.

"Byakuya-kun!" The ancient man hollered, emphatically waving the boy over to him. With a smile he flash stepped to his side at the watering hole and sat down on the paved stones. "How are you, Kuchiki-san?"

"Fine." He pulled a twig from his green kimono as his friend leaned over to pull a couple leaves from his hair. He opted to go without a ponytail today.

Shunsui snorted, readjusting the hat upon his face so he could see the two.

"What brings you to the thirteenth squad today?"

"Chambermaid need to get rid of you?" Junko had become well acquainted with the captain after escorting the young heir to many festivals and Soulreaper related events. He had no mercy when it came to seducing the lady, her class, hips, and docility were more than he could handle. "Maybe I should visit her while you're out."

"Leave that poor, exhausted woman alone. She has plenty upon her plate already." He gestured to the boy after pushing the man back from standing. Byakuya frowned. "What did you come here for? Surely, love advice for a handsome, young nobleman such as you."

"Juushiro is not the man to talk to for that. Oh, no." The other captain chuckled again, throwing a teasing look at his friend.

"I suppose you are," Byakuya stuck his nose in the air indignantly. "Tell me, wise-man, how do you know when you're in love?"

"I guess it depends on the person you're in love with." He shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Ukitake questioned. "Love is love, no matter who it's between, you either feel that spark or you don't."

"Maybe you love people differently." He sat up. "You may want to protect a woman with your life or spend every waking moment with her."

"What if you want her to protect you?" The boy questioned.

Shunsui turned to him, looking sternly in his eye.

"You don't want those types of women. Unless you have some leverage over her."

"Shunsui!" Ukitake, deflected him with an aged hand. "It doesn't matter what your significant other's physical or characteristic aspects are, you'll both protect each other in your own way if you're truly meant to be."

"That woman," Captain Kyoraku warned. "Is a danger."

He pulled his hat over his eyes and leaned back unto the stoned pavement. The other man rolled his eyes and tossed the head of lettuce into the water.

"Whoever this person is, if it's right you'll know." He touched the boy's shoulder. "Do they have feelings for you too?"

The heir swallowed, unable to recall any conclusion he had ever concocted.

"I don't know." He never deduced how Kaien thought about him. Wait, when did he get roped into confessing his fancies?

"Are there any signs?" Ukitake pressed, leaning forward out of interest.

"You know, you've always been a gossip, old man." Shunsui, peaked out from under weaved straw to see the other's indignant look.

"I don't really feel like talking about it anymore." Byakuya turned to the pond.

"Don't worry; your soul mate will come along one day." The pale captain comforted.

The boy frowned, unhappy with the fact that the day wasn't today or had been a long time ago. His ancestors had been married by now.

"And I'm sure there's tons of pus—"

"—candidates—"

"—candidates waiting in line just for you." Shunsui's counterpart didn't even look up during his censor.

"Yes, speaking of, how was the festival?" The heir put his head between his knees and only after four seconds realized that was an ineffective way of his hiding his embarrassment. He held his noble chin up and ignored the red blaze upon his cheeks.

"It was good. Nothing too lavish." The corners of Ukitake's mouth turned downward.

"Nothing too exciting?" The blush deepened and Byakuya closed his eyes out of guilt.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Just rowdy commoners."

Shunsui raised a brow.

The trio sat in silence as the old men watched the red hue slowly dissipate.

"CAPTAIN." Some unearthly creature shouted.

A most unholy screech reverberated throughout a building across the pond, accompanying an enormous crash.

Ukitake turned toward his office as the boy looked on in anticipation, contrasting perfectly with the rolling over of Shunsui's body. Buyakuya glanced at his companions questioningly.

"Wait for it…" The Squad Eight Captain sighed.

"Captain, THIS _woman_...!" Bursting forth from the door to the illustrious Captain Ukitake's office was a tall man with a surprisingly sexy mullet and a bifocal-ed woman attached to his back, biting off his ear.

"Captain Kyoraku, Kaien…!" Half way around the watering hole, he fell unto his back, slamming her to the ground and taking advantage of his temporary release.

She snarled, throwing her legs around his waist during his scurrying and holding him in the vice of her thighs. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he grunted.

"My circulation! Captain, Lisa…," Kaien reached behind him and struck off the woman's glasses. "She attacked me!"

"Only after you knocked those papers off the roof!" She stuck her fingers into his mouth and choked him. "Do you know how long it took me to write those?"

His rebuttal was a horrid, moist gurgle.

"Penmanship, _Penmanship_!" Hewing the back of his neck, she released his waist. She grumbled something under her breath and strode away from the man, sitting attentively with hands in lap. "I refuse to rewrite all 56 reports."

"But Lisa," Shunsui remonstrated.

"No, no, no." She put her hands on her hips and leaned forward on her knees.

"The rookies—"

"Will simply need to do a little paper_work_." She snapped.

Ukitake whipped his head to the left, eyes glaring straight through Kaien. Narrowing big brown ones, he pursed his lips.

"Oh, no, no, no! I didn't do _anything_. _She_ dropped the papers after_ she_ got scared. That was in no way _my_ fault."

"You jumped onto the roof for _no_ apparent reason!" Lisa shouted.

"I was going to greet you, like a good coworker _would_." Kaien sat opposite his captain, behind the young nobleman, whose blush was returning.

"You don't even know—"

"Why, I nev—"

This was the beginning of a forty second shouting battle between the two lieutenants, ending when the aged captain's twitching eyebrow had reached its peak.

"KAIEN," The pale captain interrupted. "How was the festival?"

The teal-eyed man's frown disappeared, as did the teen's face. He recounted the evening's events at ease and the boy's expense. Byakuya tried to drown out all the juicy details of the man's tale, the ones that made the boy cringe, the eighth captain's lips curve upwards, and the thirteenth captain blush and glower.

Juushiro's gaze wandered back to the boy, stoic and lifeless as could be. Byakuya looked into the water and avoided both he and Kaien's eyes.

"You had fun, didn't you, Byakuya?" He jerked his head toward the teal orbs, immediately losing his irate face in their gaze.

He grumbled under his breath, still focusing on Kaien. The lieutenant grinned as if proving the boy's discomfort false and looked at his Captain. With a raised eyebrow, Lisa turned to Shunsui and met his glimmering brown eyes. He had a smirk and a raised brow, too.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Ukitake touched his cheek daintily. "We've been sitting here talking and I haven't offered any _tea_."

Opening his mouth in protest, Kaien looked indignantly towards his captain. Juushiro, held up a hand to silence him.

"Now, Shiba-kun, I am an old man. My body isn't a—"

With an exaggerated huff, he got up.

"Come on, Kuchiki-san." The heir followed with his eyes as the man stood and started around the pond. He lifted his head and kept his arms folded over his knees. Kaien stopped and urged him with a wave as Lisa looked in the opposite direction.

Byakuya frowned and hesitantly got to his feet, deceitfully trudging up to him and then rushing past with a burst of aristocratic arrogance. The other followed, practically skipping and waltzed through the open doors of the office and into the hall. He shut the door behind him and smirked.

"I'm sorry," Kaien started. "I just enjoyed _my_self _so much_ that night, I had to tell Ukitake."

Strutting ahead down the hall, the boy paid him no mind. The man bowed lower and tried to peer over the other's shoulder.

"Oh, come on. It was funny."

Still no response. Byakuya turned a corner.

"You had fun, didn't you?" He scoffed and walked in a more devious manner.

"Right?"

He kept instigating, finding satisfaction in the dance he was leading.

"Byakuya." He flash-stepped in front of the boy, knocking him back by the solidity of his chest and then folding his arms, "Did you have fun?"

His voice dropped into a very serious tone, catching the younger man's ears as it reverberated in the hallway.

"I had fun." He said with his nose upturned and his hands on his hips. He watched the turquoise orbs dart between the hands on his hips and shoot back up to his gaze. Kaien started away again.

"By the way, the tea is in _this_ direction." He said brushing past the other.

Byakuya studied him with an unimpressed look upon his face and followed soon after, lost to thought by the sway of his bulky shoulders.

* * *

"Oh, you're going to the ball, young man." Ukitake shook a finger in his face.

"My grandfather wouldn't allow it." The heir said, disappointedly.

"We could sneak you in." The Shiba lit up.

"I _live_ on the grounds." And then deflated.

"You've never snuck into the ball before?" The white-haired man tossed his locks over a shoulder and held a piece of paper closer to the light.

"I never wanted to go." Blindly, he leaned back into the couch and found himself in the musky crevice of the lieutenant's arm. Feeling the gesture much too symbolic, he moved forward again and put his face in his hands to hide the red creeping unto his cheeks. Was it the fact that he thought it an obvious gesture or the act of trying to hide it was futile?

"Well, find a fancy kimono and put it on." The man said casually, sipping his tea.

"The servants, the squad members, the suitors' advocates, his relatives, his grandfather." Peering over his glasses he mentioned potential revealers of identity.

"Can you grow facial hair?" Kaien was reclined completely on the couch, his feet propped upon the table and anticipation marked on his face.

"What?"

"You could grow a beard and then shave it off the night of the ball. No one would ever recognize you." Juushiro pursed his lips and chagrinned at his subordinate.

"The only way no one would see you as you," He took his glasses off and leaned forward. "Is if you cross-dressed."

Grimacing at Kaien's snicker, Byakuya opened his mouth in protest.

"Oh, it's not that bad." Ukitake turned red. "Putting on a skirt is nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, it's n—"

"Captain, I have heard some stories from Lisa that she heard from a drunken, carnal bird by the name of Shunsui, but I never," He chuckled and looked the man up and down. "Well, you know."

The pale captain cleared his throat and placed his glasses upon the desk, waiting for the flush to retreat back from his neck and ears.

"You simply need an escort." A smile found its way to the corners of his mouth as Byakuya's own slowly went agape. Kaien was too busy admiring how shiny the boy's hair was in the moonlight to note the plan.

* * *

"Why couldn't he just talk to my grandfather?" Byakuya fussed, putting his feet on the deck.

"You know they only allow adults to the ball." The lieutenant shifted to scratch his nose.  
"It's an adults' event."

"Is it really?" The heir turned to him, interest peaked.

"No. Just dancing, mild alcohol, and socializing." He turned back to the sky and watched the tanned clouds sail across the orange sea.

In silence, they waited for the maidservant to come ask the boy to take a bath and patiently let the darkness overcome the garden.

"Do you think it's too early for lightening bugs?" Kaien asked in his softest voice, which to the boy's ears was still very gravelly.

"It's the second day of June," Byakuya pulled his hair from his neck and laid his head back onto the grass. He heard Kaien sigh. "Junko will go along with it."

The man raised an eyebrow and turned toward the boy. Smirking, he sat up at the sound of a door sliding open. He saw the shimmer of blonde in the last of the sun's rays as she closed the door behind her and wandered into the closet, surely to pull a yukuta from the multitude of drawers and racks.

A moment later she emerged from the closet to see a head sticking up over the deck, grimacing at her. She flared her nostrils in disgust and walked to the edge of the room.

"Kuchiki-sama," She began. "Get up and take your clothes off."

She screamed as another head with a wide-set jaw popped up from below the wooden ledge. Composing herself, she patted her chest and swallowed, remembering to bow and greet the other properly. "Shiba-sama, good evening."

Byakuya half-heartedly waved the woman over to him, resting his head on the grass once again. Obediently she came and stood over him on the deck. She craned her neck to show she was responsive but plastered an indifferent look on her face.

"I'm going to the Summertime Ball." Junko released the tension in her neck and regarded the boy with an unimpressed look. She inferred that he was going to place some dastardly burden upon her and she had no way to refuse him, her sole purpose as a member of the clan was to provide his wishes and protect him.

"We need your help." Kaien said in a much more polite tone. He pushed the boy's head to the side.

"How is he going to get in?" She looked thoughtful. "Everyone there will know you."

"Cross-dressing." He waited for her to respond. She laughed at him and looked at Kaien for confirmation.

"Really?" She coughed between quiet laughter. "I will help in any way I can."

She stood and walked back into the bedroom. "Just to see this."

The lieutenant propped himself up and followed her, dragging the heir behind him.

"What do you need me to do?" She continued into the boy's personal bath and poured a basin of scalding water into the tub.

"Just the make-up and costuming." He folded his arm and leaned against one of the pillars in the bathroom. "Ukitake and I will handle the theatrics."

Byakuya raised an eyebrow at the word "make-up".

"He shouldn't show up by himself, who will be his escort? Ukitake-Taicho?" Emptying the container of cherry blossom scent into the water, she used her foot to reach for another basin.

"Yes," Kaien choked on his words as the young man pulled the frog-adorned kimono from his shoulders. "Either he takes Byakuya or asks Miyako before we have the chance to discuss the matter."

Byakuya shivered with the eyes on his pale skin, the deepness of the Shiba's voice escalating.

"This should work out." She turned and held her hands out for his clothing. "You need me to tell the other servants and security that he's tucked away, safe in bed."

"Exactly. I gotta go." The man gave an unsure grin and flash-stepped out of the washroom.

Immediately, the room fell silent.

"Why ar—"

"Hush." Byakuya turned to her. "Mind the business that is yours and do as you are told."

Slowly, she closed her mouth and let her anger slide back to where it came from. Patiently, she held unto his clothes and let the boy undress. He tossed his underwear toward the door as he usually did and leaned over the water. He smiled and put his toes in, soon sitting in the burning liquid.

Junko sighed and tossed the clothes to barricade the door. Coming back to the tub and sitting at the head, she waited for him to lean back so she could run the jade comb between the strands.

"How did your day with Ukitake-Taicho go?" He groaned and submersed himself completely.

* * *

I have about 62% of the next chapter done and most of the plot summary planned out. This story is going so much smoother than the others but soon, Winter Break will be here and you guys KNOW how I feel about WINTER BREAK.


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